Led by a fast start by Markayla Holland, an efficient outing from Cianna Gloster and a 30-15 second-half spurt by the Shawnee State women's basketball program, DeWayne Burroughs' club was able to head northward on U.S. 23 and claim a victory over the Ohio Christian Trailblazers' women's basketball program as the Shawnee State women obtained a 77-73 victory over the Ohio Christian women Saturday afternoon in Circleville.

Shawnee State, who also got 10 points from Lexi Deaver in the triumph, not only put three players in double-figures in the four-point win but collected a plus-15 advantage on the glass (43-28) and converted 15 Ohio Christian turnovers into 19 points off of said turnovers while holding the Trailblazers to just nine points likewise in that category.

Additionally, the Bears held Ohio Christian, who came into Saturday's contest shooting 36 percent from three-point range, to a 7-for-29 mark from the three-point stripe (24.1 percent) in the four-point victory -- which proved to be huge as Shawnee State went just 27-for-48 from the free throw line while Ohio Christian went a perfect 22-for-22 from the charity stripe as a unit.

Holland goes on the hunt

For the second consecutive road bout, Shawnee State sophomore Markayla Holland picked up the Bears offensively.

Having already supplied a 20-point outing against Point Park (Pa.), Holland added in another 20-piece in the Bears' four-point victory over Ohio Christian. The Waterford, Mich. native poured in 10 of the Bears' first 17 points in the opening quarter of action en route to helping Shawnee State collect a 19-15 advantage after the opening quarter of play, and also posted two of her four steals in the quarter to help get Burroughs' group out and running in transition.

Holland, who added in five additional points and matched a team-best with four rebounds in the final quarter of play, ultimately finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four steals in 29 minutes of game action -- all while going a strong 7-for-14 from the field in the contest.

For the season, Holland is averaging team-highs of 13.1 points and 2.5 steals per game while shooting at a 46.1 percent clip from the field.

Gloster continues double-double output

Alongside Holland, Shawnee State senior forward Cianna Gloster helped aid the Bears along in the opening quarter -- as the Flint, Mich. product posted six of her 15 points in the opening frame of play while going 3-for-4 from the field in the opening quarter. Gloster then nailed her remaining four field goal attempts over the final three quarters of play for her nine additional points, all while supplying 11 out of her 12 rebounds over those final trio of frames to help push the Bears along.

Gloster, along with fellow sister Chianne and fellow Michigan native Sanaya Gregory, were also the main spearheaders in a 11-2 Shawnee State run from the 3:43 to the 1:38 mark of the third quarter of action that allowed the Bears to overcome a 37-36 deficit -- and turn the scant one-point deficit into a 47-39 advantage.

Cianna Gloster ultimately tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting to tally her sixth double-double through 11 games for the Bears. Gloster is currently averaging 12.7 points and a team-high 12.2 rebounds on a team-best 61.1 percent clip from the floor. Gloster is still on track to break Shawnee State's single-season rebounds per game mark a third of the way through the year.

Additional

Shawnee State (8-3, 1-2 River States Conference) also got major contributions from Lexi Deaver (10 points, 6-for-8 free throw shooting), Chianne Gloster (nine points, seven rebounds), Teyarra Johnson (four points), and Sanaya Gregory, Maelynn Howell, Emily Maynard and Amiya Latham, who each hit one trey to nab three points apiece. Gregory also added four rebounds and three assists for the Bears in the four-point road triumph.

With the victory, the Bears will turn their attention to its contests down south in the Sunshine State on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30 against Southeastern (Fla.) and Webber International (Fla.), respectively. Friday's contest against Southeastern will begin at 1 p.m. in Babson Park, Fla. as part of the Webber International University Classic.

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